Donald Link's Eggplant Casserole Recipe (2024)

Can you make this without sausage? Could you substitute mushrooms?

Unbelievably rich- The amount of béchamel and fontina is more than enough to hold together more layers of eggplant.I think I will try this again with double the eggplant. or more.

This is delicious and definitely falls squarely into rich comfort food. I used two large eggplants and reduced the béchamel by 1/4. Also reduced the cheese by a lot, used 6 oz of swiss cheese and only 1.5 oz shredded parmesan. This lightened it up a lot and it was still cheesy and delicious. Serve with a salad to add some freshness. perfect on a cold, winter day.

Ooof. Waay to much fat and salt. Use half the cheese, lots more eggplant, and no added salt. We couldn't eat it as it was, but plan to freeze it for topping over veggies and baked potatoes. It will last a long time. Very disappointing the way it is, and I followed the recipe exactly.

I made this last week, and it was great. It's a very rich, flavorful dish. I didn't have merguez sausage, but I did have linguica so I used that. It worked out very well.

This was a very weird but very tasty dish. I agree that the sauce could handle more fillings (more eggplant, more sausage). I might try 50% more next time. Definitely pair with a salad as you will need to balance with something light!

After browning/cooking the merguez in a large cast iron pan, use the same pan instead of a baking dish. Very presentable. Fewer things to wash! Delicious. Start with a fresh mint julep!

I listened to other’s notes. I used 2 large eggplants, about 3 pounds. I cut it to about 1/2” thick, 1/4” seemed way thin. I used a pound of chorizo and crumbled it. I’ll try the merguez next time, it’s harder to find. I used half the salt in the béchamel. I couldn’t find fontina on my first attempt so I used a 1/2 pound Italian 4 cheese blend with a little extra Parmesan. I layered it as directed into a larger 9x13 dish. Dollop the sauce. Refrigerated and baked for about 45 minutes.

I have to say that in my opinion this is a terrible recipe. I made it just as written and to my taste it calls for literally twice as much cheese as it should have in it. The eggplant was completely lost in an ocean of cheese, and the casserole was swimming in oil from the cheese. I might try it again, but really, more than a pound of cheese is overkill.

Whoa.... My family couldn't really eat this. Followed the recipe exactly. Very oily, and salty. If I were to make it again, I wouldn't add any salt (the cheese is salty enough), I'd double the eggplant and halve the cheese.

Something is off about this recipe. You think, "These cannot possibly be the correct quantities of cheese." They're not -- it's a gloppy mess. It tastes good, but it's basically just cheese with a little eggplant and sausage! Drastically reduce the cheese and increase the eggplant (the sausage is probably just right) and it will probably be OK. But a casserole cooked for 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven is not going to look as deliciously browned as the photo.

If you read the recipe carefully, it says to cook the sausage and then cut it into rounds. You can't do that unless you leave it in the casings. Although, I don't imagine it would hurt to remove the meat from the casings and then cook it. It's all buried under a blanket of cheese and bechamel, between layers of eggplant.

Used 2 eggplants and substituted mushrooms for the sausage. Added garlic, paprika, red pepper flakes, coriander and fennel seeds to the mushroom saute. As others recommended, I cut the cheese in half. It was delicious.

On second thought, don't bother with this recipe. Too gooey, not enough egg plant and who can find merguez sausage anyway.

I made this without looking at the comments which was most unlike me. I won't make that mistake again. As many have commented, it's much too much béchamel and cheese for the vegetables. I instinctively halved the merquez and doubled the eggplant and reduced the salt. Once it was cooked, I did a quick pivot and made a pot of plain sturdy pasta (gemelli) which I stirred into one portion of the "casserole". As a pasta sauce, it was really good!

I will be making this again with more eggplant and no sausage. I agree with the others. It was very good, but also very rich. The salt with the eggplant was enough as the cheese is salty as well.

In an 8" square pan, I used 1 large eggplant, 1 lamb sausage, and half the amount of the béchamel and cheeses. Served with short brown rice. Delicious and rich but not cloying. Enough for 2 dinners for two if you add a roasted vegetable like cauliflower.

Nowhere near enough eggplant vs cheese. At least double eggplant.

After reading some of the comments I elected to cut the bechemal in half. That was probably a mistake since I had a one pound eggplant and lots of sausage to cover. I used some vegetarian sausage patties that had been in the freezer for a while and some cheese of uncertain provenance from the fridge. All in all this is a good recipe, but I will not halve the bechemal next time.

I made this exactly as written but substituted Impossible sausage, and it was quite tasty. Sure, it’s oily, cheesy, and salty, but I knew what I was getting into based on the ingredient list (and previous comments). Great comfort food for a cold New England day!

Way too rich. You can’t taste the eggplant. It is full of flavor but I could feel my heart seizing up with each bite.

So many negative notes about how rich this is. Having read the ingredients, it should be no surprise. It is indeed rich and cheesy and reminds me of ski lodges and fondue and even aligot. A small portion served alongside a huge green salad dressed with a sharp vinaigrette is Heaven.I am cooking during pandemic, so I didn’t have the correct sausage or cheese. I used some low-moisture mozzarella that needed eating and some cheap parm and store-brand smoked beef sausage. It was still good.

Debbie says yum yum yum! Used portobello mushrooms.

I really wanted to like this, I used a vegetarian sausage and followed the recommendations to add much more eggplant and reduce the salt substantially but it was just too intensely salty. Maybe that was because the eggplants need some salt and the sausage is salty, not sure, but it was just far too salty.

Casserole is too salty. I suspect all the cheese contributes to this. Suggest not adding any salt to the recipe while cooking. Used regular roll sausage and added fennel seed. Other than excessive salt the recipe is great.

Substituted 1/2 lb of sautéed mushrooms for the sausage, halved the cheeses and sauce. Very good.

Much too rich- I agree 1/2 the bechamel and twice the eggplant. I had to throw 1/2 away..

Great dish! We cooked it with minced beef instead of chorizo, it was slowly cooked before gathering the casserole. We used 4 big eggplants and 500 grammes of beef

This is a strange dish. I would double the eggplant or use a baking dish roughly half the size...I used less than half the fontina called for and just a light touch of parm and it was still very unctuous. Not bad, but won’t beat a path back to this one. I will say it is easy and relatively quick to make.